A Guide for White Teachers in the Melting Pot that is America

How to Guide: A few steps on inclusivity for teachers in the majority

Below is a list of steps(in no particular order) that may be helpful for teachers who aren't of color to follow, if they REALLY want to advocate for their black/brown students. You may even want to take some notes!

(picture credit: pollenmidwest.org)

Step 1: Acknowledge your prejudices.... we ALL have them!!
What are they? How do they affect your teaching? In what ways will you be intentional about reducing the prejudices you have?

Step 2: Identify and understand what your culture is .
In doing this it allows you to be more open to understanding the cultures of others. When you can understand other people's cultures you can then work in the best interest of the children in the classroom. Now you can begin to be an advocate. More empathy and less stereotyping!

Side note: In no way shape or form does the multi-cultural night that happens once a year equate to taking positive steps towards cultural consciousness. No; understanding ones culture takes time. It involves research that a food dish or article of clothing can't tell you. 

Step 3: "Colorblindness" is NOT a thing
Please stop using this as your go-to when you become uncomfortable during conversations about race. Conversations about something so complex aren't supposed to feel comfortable, but aside from having a physical condition; we all see color. Teaching anything else is harmful.

Step 4: SPEAK UP!
It is not enough for teachers of color to be the only ones speaking loudly about issues that plague the black and brown communities. If we say that we are allies then we should be allies on all fronts when it comes to the youth that we serve. This means that; whether a teacher of color or not, when social injustices are happening in your students' communities you don't just HAVE to speak on it;It is a NEED! The same way students of color need you in the classroom, they need you just as much if not more outside of it. Our preschoolers, elementary, middle school, and high school students cannot yet vote and because of this, us adults have to be their voice. We have to be their champion in evoking change that truly benefits them; saves their lives even. 

Step 5: Be Patient
I think that I can speak for quite a few black educators when I say that none of us expect such change overnight. Whether it's prejudices, stereotypes, or negative self-talk, it takes a lot of awareness and intentionality to change a thought process; but in order for us to be most effective, that's the change we need.

This blog post was drafted in 2019 after seeing countless Facebook comments over the years from former classmates (in high school and beyond), that expressed a lot of neutrality on the issue of race. I saw some of these former classmates; whom are educators by the way, make comments like: "Well don't all lives matter?" "Why can't we be happy for all women and not just black women?" (in response to the term 'blackgirlmagic') "Police brutality isn't a black issue" etc. etc. Not to mention all the white educators I came across (and still do) that never speak up about anything pertaining to race. All of this was perplexing to me because I knew that amongst all of their classrooms, there were children that resembled a Tamir Rice or a  younger Breonna Taylor. 

How in the world can you possibly say that you're an advocate for your students? But in situations that students of color really NEED an advocate, you turn the other way, or wave off the magnitude of police brutality in the black community, or stay committed to the notion that the Black Lives Matter movement somehow devalues other races. I simply do not understand this one bit and I don't think I ever will. 

Fast-forward to May 21st of this year, when I come across a picture on Instagram of a white woman holding a sign that reads, "MUZZLES ARE FOR DOGS AND SLAVES. I AM A FREE HUMAN BEING." If you haven't seen the post please click on the following link: https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/gretha-stenger-slave-coronavirus-protest-larkin-small/  . The words on this sign ,as unnerving as they are, to me; isn't the worst part of this story. The worst part is that the woman holding this horrendous sign worked(as she has recently been fired) with children at Northcoast Preparatory Academy in California. While this is in no way an isolated event, it does make you wonder just how many other white educators feel this exact same way behind closed doors. Classrooms nowadays are far more diverse than the community of teachers that teach to them, and for this reason we HAVE to do better as a community! When insensitive or just downright ignorant comments are made about race, those of us who know better should speak up and speak loud. Gretha Stenger (the woman who held that horrendous sign) should've never been working with children and like-minded individuals shouldn't be either.

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor..." - Desmond Tutu
Ms. Pashea